Chicago to Seattle

What the Data Says About ORD to SEA

The Chicago to Seattle corridor (ORD → SEA) covers roughly 1,721 miles and is served by 13 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 27,916 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 67.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 10,396 flights were recorded on this pairing — 108 cancelled (1.0%) and 18 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 13 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 27,916 total flights analyzed, the 79.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 67.8-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 93% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 49% on-time — a 43-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to SEA route, the combination of a 79.9% on-time rate, 67.8-minute average delay, 1.0% recent cancellation rate, and 13 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.